Chapter 4: Behind the Wardrobe
The second-floor dressing room looked perfect.
Too perfect.
The silver gown Vanessa had worn earlier hung neatly on a chair. Makeup brushes lay in a straight line. The velvet ring box sat open on the dressing table like a silent accusation.
Emma stood near the doorway, afraid to touch anything.
Julian examined the door.
Mr. Collins pointed to the inside bolt.
“At midnight, this was locked.”
Julian looked back. “But tonight?”
“It was unlocked when Miss Vanessa reported the ring missing.”
Lady Margaret crossed her arms.
“This is becoming absurd. A missing ring, a locked door, deleted footage. All of this because one servant refuses to confess.”
Emma flinched.
Julian turned sharply.
“Mother, stop.”
Lady Margaret’s eyes widened slightly. She was not used to being challenged.
Vanessa stepped beside her.
“This is exactly what thieves do,” she said. “They create confusion.”
Mr. Collins ignored her and walked to the wardrobe.
It was tall, antique, and carved from dark walnut wood. It took two guards to pull it forward.
Behind it was a wall panel painted the same cream color as the room.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
Then Emma noticed a thin scratch near the floor.
“There,” she said.
Julian knelt and pressed the edge of the panel.
Nothing happened.
Mr. Collins reached into his pocket and took out a small old key.
Lady Margaret stiffened.
“Where did you get that?”
“I have kept the old service keys since your father’s time, madam.”
He inserted the key into a hidden slot.
The panel clicked.
A narrow door opened inward.
Cold air drifted from the darkness behind it.
The guests who had followed them upstairs gasped from the hallway.
Vanessa took one step back.
Julian looked furious.
“You said this was sealed.”
“It was supposed to be,” Mr. Collins said. “Someone opened it.”
Inside was a narrow passage barely wide enough for one person. Dust covered the floor, but there were footprints.
Fresh ones.
Emma saw something glitter near the edge of the passage.
She bent down.
It was a broken piece of a silver hairpin.
Vanessa immediately touched her hair.
The movement was small.
But Emma saw it.
So did Julian.
“Is that yours?” he asked.
Vanessa laughed too quickly.
“Half the women here wear silver pins.”
Emma looked at the hairpin again.
It had a tiny pearl at the end.
Vanessa had worn pearl pins in her hair during the party.
Julian took the broken piece and handed it to Mr. Blake.
“Put this aside.”
Mr. Blake nodded nervously.
Emma watched him carefully.
He avoided looking at Vanessa.
That told her enough to be afraid.
At the end of the passage was another small door. It opened into the old service staircase.
Mr. Collins lifted his lantern.
“There is something else.”
On the dusty floor near the staircase lay a white handkerchief.
Vanessa’s initials were embroidered in silver thread.
V.H.
The hallway went completely silent.
Julian picked it up slowly.
Vanessa’s face changed.
Only for one second.
Then she cried.
“That was planted! She planted it!”
She pointed at Emma again.
Emma felt anger rise through her fear.
“How could I plant it? I didn’t even know the panel opened.”
“You clean this mansion. You know every hidden corner!”
Lady Margaret stepped forward.
“Enough. This proves nothing.”
Julian stared at his mother.
“It proves Vanessa lied about being near the service staircase.”
Vanessa’s tears vanished.
“Julian, how can you say that to me?”
“Because Mr. Collins saw you.”
“He is old. He was mistaken.”
Mr. Collins lowered his eyes, but his voice remained steady.
“I have served this family longer than you have been alive, miss. I know what I saw.”
Vanessa’s expression hardened for the first time.
Emma realized then that Vanessa was not scared.
She was angry.
Angry that the plan was failing.
But the ring was still missing.
Without the ring, Vanessa could still twist everything.
Then Emma remembered the camera.
“The deleted footage,” she said. “Is there a backup?”
Mr. Blake answered too quickly.
“No.”
Julian turned.
“You didn’t check.”
“The system does not keep backups.”
Mr. Collins looked at him.
“That is not true.”
Mr. Blake went still.
Lady Margaret’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
Mr. Collins said quietly, “Your late husband installed a hidden backup system after the robbery fifteen years ago. It records important cameras to a separate drive in the old study.”
Julian stared at him.
“Father never told me that.”
“No, sir,” Mr. Collins said. “He trusted very few people.”
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Lady Margaret’s face turned pale.
For the first time all night, she looked afraid.
